I am an entrepreneur and communications expert from Salt Lake City and founder of SnappConner PR. I am the author of Beyond PR: Communicate Like A Champ The Digital Age, available on Amazon. I am also a frequent author and speaker on communication and am co-creator of the Content University program for executives. The opinions I express (especially when tongue in cheek) are entirely my own. My newsletter is the Snappington Post, available at http://bit.ly/1iv67Wk

I Don't Tolerate Poor Grammar

Poor grammar and writing is an epidemic in the workplace. While the era of social media and texting has caused many to believe it’s a problem they couldn’t resolve, a number of businesses are finally finding the nerve to crack down. A recent HBR article by Kyle Wiens, I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar,noted wryly that in his company, anyone who thinks an apostrophe was one of the 12 apostles or who tosses commas around with the abandon of a shotgun would be fortunate to find their way to the foyer before he shows them the door.

His article drew 3,013 comments (ironically, many of them taking him to task for ending a sentence with a preposition and referring to “company” in the plural, a convention that while common in American English is apparently still frowned upon overseas.) Which brings up another point – have you ever noticed how much argument a discussion of grammar inspires? It seems the “grammar police” are most vigilant about the 1-2 archaic rules they hold dear, while they blithely break or ignore the dozens of rules they don’t know.

Actually, I do tolerate poor grammar; I just don’t do it willingly. I have never fired an employee for poor grammar or hired for grammar and writing alone (although like Kyle, I now screen language ability heavily in anybody who walks through our door.) I’ve never corrected anybody in public or in front of a client. But I cringe inside on a daily basis when I edit the same mistakes in the same kinds of writing again and again.

While I beat the drum in staff meetings, I had pretty much come to accept that terrible grammar and writing is an aspect of the millennial workforce I would simply have to accept and endure. Until last week.

The flood of responses to the question of older/younger entrepreneurs included a note from the PR lead for Alex Shevchenko and Max Lytvyn, who co-founded their current company in 2009 when they were both 28. What caught my eye is that their company is Grammarly, the software program that analyzes copy for adherence to some 150-plus grammar rules. In addition to grammar and spelling, Grammarly checks for stylistic issues as well, such as passive voice. (YES. I can hear the spontaneous chorus of hallelujah from editors all over the world.) Grammarly recently received the Editors’ Choice award for 2012 from TopTenReviews.

Not only was the founders’ millennial age a surprise, but from their bios I can see they are both English language learners who completed college degrees outside the U.S. – while both hold MBA’s (Alex from the Univ. of Toronto and Max from Vanderbilt University), Alex completed his bachelor’s degree in Vienna, Austria, and Max completed a bachelor’s degree in the Ukraine.

There go the excuses. There is hope.

Grammarly’s blog notes that more than two thirds of salaried jobs require a significant amount of writing, yet top organizations are spending $3B (Yes, that’s $3 billion) per year on remedial training for employees to bring their writing ability up to even a baseline standard.

I really appreciate that instead of becoming the “grammar police,” Grammarly’s blog and FacebookFacebook page show they are approaching the epidemic with a dose of humor instead. For example, a list of grammar rules on their blog says

Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.

Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.

That’s the spirit. Rather than making grammar the weapon we beat our employees over the head with, why not make the topic an opportunity to learn in an environment of humor and fun?

For example, Grammarly joined New York Times, AARP and several other organizations last week in sponsoring a one-sentence writing contest in celebration of National Writing Day. I look forward to reading and possibly reporting the coming results.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Ha! Thank you, Devin – but hopefully my point is clear that we don’t need to be the police, we can just all encourage our companies to be a little more in tune with the basics. (Although I did spellcheck this article draft more carefully than usual, alas!)

I agree, with the only exception I’ve seen is that one of our most dynamic leaders, articulate verbally but this person’s grammer has never been great, in fact terrible. It has improved and with some gentle nudging and teasing their has best a vast improvement. If I had not hired him because his resume looked like something from gradeschool, Fishbowl would not be where we are today. Perhaps to see grammer as something that could be worked on is a thought rather than a deal killer. I do understand that Fishbowl is contrarian in most areas. Therefore, I agree in general to your entire article.

Thanks, David – and I agree, it’s an issue to be handled with gentleness and humor rather than an iron fist. It makes a difference, too, that most of our agency positions rely on writing and communications at their very core. I have to laugh – in my first agency, we hired an intern who had two typos in her resume. She was outstanding, we hired her, and she met all our expectations, ultimately becoming a partner (though writing never did become her top standout skill). I think solid writing and language can be learned if a person truly has the desire.

But – for anyone who has innate or learned language abilities – I think its important to recognize that language is a gift, to be used with wisdom, never to be used to make another person feel bad (and especially to feel bad about a lack of grammatical skills). Your team is such a wonderful example of that principle. Helping someone along – even teasing and coaxing – is certainly okay, but making them feel bad and unworthy is not. Kudos for that.

I’m giving a (gentle) side-eye to the implicit assumption that managers themselves necessarily have the grammar skills and/or the literary flair to either judge their underlings’ efforts or to mentor them to a higher level of usage. I’d actually argue that poor writing skills on the part of the powers that be are more harmful than mistakes by those just starting out. Seeing that someone has risen to the c-suite level and still believes that plurals take an apostrophe is more than a little demotivating.

You’re totally right Maureen. As a consultant, my job requires me to write reports all the time and I hate it when I argue with a superior knowing that I am right and they are wrong. Sadly they’re never convinced!